In 1984, Langenkamp made her film debut portraying Callie Wells in Nickel Mountain, which is based on the novel of the same name. While she was studying at Stanford University, Langenkamp rose to prominence when Wes Craven cast her as teen heroine Nancy Thompson in his hugely successful film A Nightmare on Elm Street, the first film in what became a series. Craven wanted someone very 'non-Hollywood' to play Nancy, and he believed Langenkamp met this quality.[10] She beat out more than 200 actresses auditioning for the part.[11] The film was both a critical and commercial success, earning a total of $25 million at the American box office.[12]

She portrayed Beth in the television film Passions. In 1985, Langenkamp received the Best Actress Award at the Avoriaz Film Festival for her role as Nancy.[13] She was later cast in the television film Suburban Beat alongside Dee Wallace. The following year, she guest starred in CBS Schoolbreak Special and ABC Afterschool Specials.

In between starring roles, she played Marie Lubbock on the ABC television series Just the Ten of Us, which received critical acclaim and has gained a cult following. It was a spin-off of the popular ABC situation comedy Growing Pains (on which Langenkamp guest-starred), from 1988 to 1990. That same year, she and her castmates were nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor/Actress Ensemble in a Television Comedy, Drama Series or Special. In 1989, she had a cameo role as a victim in Wes Craven's Shocker.[15]

She portrayed Lou Ann Solomon in one episode of Perversions of Science. In 1999, Langenkamp was cast in the film Fugitive Mind. In 2000, she had guest role in 18 Wheels of Justice as a waitress. In 2002, Langenkamp portrayed Janet Thompson in an episode of JAG. After this appearance, she took a break from acting to focus on her family.[17]

In 2016, Langenkamp starred in Home. She is set to star in the upcoming films The Sub (2016),[23]Getting the Kinks Out (2017) and The Survivors (2017).[24][25] On September 22, 2015 it was revealed that Langenkamp, along with AFX Studio, is behind the special effects for Scream Queens.[26] In 2015, Langenkamp portrayed Sharon Monroe in 4 episodes of The Bay. In February 2016, it was announced that Langenkamp will have a role in Hellraiser: Judgment (2017).[27][28][29] Langenkamp does the special effects for the series Filthy Preppy Teen$.

Langenkamp leads a local beach clean-up effort and runs the Malibu Gum Company, a firm that sells naturally made chewing gum packaged with trading cards depicting local surfers. She married Alan Pasqua while filming A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, but they divorced in 1987. Many elements of the plot for Wes Craven's New Nightmare are based on an incident in which Langenkamp received numerous threatening letters from an obsessed fan after the cancellation of Just the Ten of Us.[30] Langenkamp is married to David LeRoy Anderson since 1989 and has two children.[31]